Status: 16.01.2024, 14:37 PM
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Hertha BSC mourns the loss of its president Kay Bernstein. © Andreas Gora/dpa
Kay Bernstein once stood in the Hertha corner as an ultra and later became president of his heart club. Now he has died unexpectedly at the age of 43. The club and fans are in shock.
Berlin - The unexpected death of president Kay Bernstein has left Hertha BSC in a state of shock and caused great sadness beyond German football. The club boss has died at the age of only 43, as the Berliners announced.
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"The entire club, its committees and staff are stunned and deeply dismayed," the second-division club wrote. We ask that the privacy of the family be respected after this horrific event. The Berliners did not provide any further information. At the weekend, the president had visited the team at the training camp in Spain.
There was great sympathy throughout football Germany. "We mourn with the entire Hertha family and wish the relatives in particular much strength," the German Football League (DFL) wrote on X, formerly Twitter. Numerous clubs offered their condolences.
"Kay Bernstein has already left his mark in his unfortunately far too short tenure at Hertha BSC. The terrible news of his death was also a shock for us Unioners, and we share the pain and grief of the Hertha family," wrote the president of city rivals 1. FC Union Berlin, Dirk Zingler, to Hertha.
Great sympathy
There were also many reactions from politicians. "With his Berlin path, he has only just succeeded in reuniting fans and club. My thoughts are with his family and friends in these difficult hours," wrote Berlin's Governing Mayor Kai Wegner, who is himself a big supporter of Hertha.
Bernstein was particularly popular with the organized part of the Hertha annex. In his youth, he was an ultra himself and a lead singer in the corner. With the charitable commitment he promoted, the fans also caused a stir nationwide.
After that, Bernstein, who moved from Dresden to Berlin-Marzahn in his youth, built up an event and communications agency. He also changed places in the stadium: from the east corner to the main stand. When the end of the increasingly leaden era of predecessor Werner Gegenbauer became apparent, Bernstein announced his candidacy. "We were well on our way to becoming irrelevant to people," he told dpa in an interview at the end of 2022. "And that was something I couldn't let happen because it broke my heart."
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Election as a slap in the face for the establishment
The fact that he was actually elected in the summer of 2022 was also a clapping slap in the face for the Hertha establishment, which in parts blatantly wanted to push through his opponent Frank Steffel. Public doubts as to whether he was up to the task were great.
Bernstein threw himself into the task with full force. "Full-time and challenging," he said. He made the club and the office more approachable again. Not only with his ubiquitous Hertha training jacket, but also with his open nature. In addition, he appeared as a critic of the excesses of modern football.
There was no shortage of crises. The connection with the unpopular investor Lars Windhorst ended with a big scandal. The U.S. investment firm 777 Partners took over his shares and brought much-needed money to the club. Hertha were relegated from the Bundesliga for the seventh time and had to worry about their licence for weeks.
Mood significantly improved
Nevertheless, Bernstein and his supporters managed to significantly improve the atmosphere around the club. A bond was formed between the fans and the team that also endured failures. Numerous Hertha legends such as Pal Dardai and Zecke Neuendorf returned.
After a weak start to the second division season, the Berlin way, which was also proclaimed due to financial bottlenecks, with a lot of focus on talents from the club's own youth, bore more and more fruit at the end of the first half of the season. Bernstein missed the general meeting in October after an accident at the office and was connected via video from the hospital. After a break, he appeared in public again.
As president, he was particularly pleased about the increased cohesion in the club. "There is so much wonderful charitable force out there. We want to support that even more," he said. At Hertha, the identification figure leaves a big gap. Dpa